The papers are fairly quiet on Durham topics this morning -- though yesterday and tomorrow are both more significant news days on the Bull City front.
On Sunday, Ray Gronberg's lead story in the H-S was an intriguing look at the lobbying behind changing Durham's restrictive billboard ordinances to allow a limited number of electronic/digital billboards on major thoroughfares. The H-S' finding that Fairway Outdoor Advertising was the largest in-kind donor for the pro-meals tax effort this fall isn't exactly new news -- we reported on it here on Dec. 3 -- though Gronberg does alert readers to new billboards popping up on behalf of a number of local non-profits on US 70. (H-S)
Also in yesterday's paper: Southern High finds itself ranked exactly last on a list of "low-performing" high schools in the state, with Hillside a few places above it and Northern in the middle of the list. (H-S) I'm trying to formulate more to say on the matter -- but suffice it to say that it's depressing to me to see upper-middle-class Wake County parents fighting tooth and nail for the same kind of "neighborhood schools" borne along socioeconomic, racial and class lines that have failed in Durham. Does Wake County really want to repeat Durham's experience on local schools.
Meanwhile, look for the schools and other stakeholders to be top of the headlines in tomorrow's papers, as the County Commission's public hearing tonight will tackle the budget cuts proposed by county manager Mike Ruffin, which includes 3% cuts in county funding for local schools and non-profits. Ruffin's strategy of imposing cuts twice that large (6%) on county departments as he has recommended for external agencies seems to be a shrewd strategy towards deflecting criticism, but still, expect some sparks to fly over the proposed cuts. We'll have more on tonight's meeting tomorrow at BCR.
In today's news:
- Look for Durham's Animal Protection Society (APS) to line up front and center against the county budget cuts; the H-S notes that the number of animals being surrendered in today's economic malaise is rising even as sources of funding dwindle. 75% of the shelter's funding comes from the county. (H-S)
- The Sarah P. Duke Gardens were named to Southern Living's top ten list of public gardens in the South; only the Duke Gardens and the gardens at Asheville's Biltmore Estate made the list from N.C. (H-S)
- A meeting of Hope Valley Farms neighborhood associations will feature Mayor Bell and police representatives on Wednesday night, after two uncharacteristic-for-the-area armed robberies occured there last month; the meeting comes on the heels of a similar sit-down with urban neighborhood residents in late December. (N&O)
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